Junior Seau death is tragic not only to the ones who loved him, but more so to the ones who would have loved to be him. In a culture built on bigger, stronger and faster is it any surprise to see modern day gladiators lives coming to an end in the same violent manner they were paid to defend?

Now, many people will say gladiators of our time are not slaves, and are paid kings' ransom to not only entertain, but live life like a hero who is celebrated for being vain. In an age where Kings are mere symbols replaced by the power of the ultimately dollar, why are we so shocked that a man who gave his life for a ransom that was fit for a king, decided to put it to an end when he could no longer stand to defend?

However, many will argue that just because the light no longer shines upon him with great glare, that his mighty dollars in his pocket should be enough to overcome that despair? And there lies the tragedy that people will always line up for fortune and fame no matter how great the physical harm or mental drain. Many wise men have pondered that a man with no health is no longer a man, that your true wealth is the greatest when its full of health. I ask the question what else can you expect from a man whose brain rattled, but no longer hummed? The gladiators of today may live a life longer than the Kings of yesterday, but the logic of fortune and fame always seems to lead us to a road that ends with too much pain.

Today it will be read that it was the death of a team-mate, a person, a son, a brother, a father and a friend. The headlines of tomorrow will line up with many men who aspire to be just like him, and again the story will be the death of a gladiator whose life was not taken by men, but by his own demons he could not defend. In the end, all it gives a warrior is a lonely feeling of knowing that in death he could finally have peace of mind with rest, and a final amen he no longer needs to defend.